Election Poll: Round 2

[betamax]

I'm going to enjoy flying out of Heathrow when Tony takes office, sweeet.

Make sure you moon the country through the window as you leave, but beware of anti-terror air marshals searching your bumcrack for C4/refugees/terror suspects.....

[zip accident]

The NHS is excellent.

I used to think it wanted a shakeup, but I was surprised, it's about as good as people can be expected to make it.

Sure lots of extra money could buy some heavy equipment, and more staff might lead to shorter queues for non-urgent treatment, but as a whole, it's thriving.

Won't stop me voting Lib Dem, but it's not why either.

[Stone]

The NHS is excellent.

I used to think it wanted a shakeup, but I was surprised, it's about as good as people can be expected to make it.

Sure lots of extra money could buy some heavy equipment, and more staff might lead to shorter queues for non-urgent treatment, but as a whole, it's thriving.

Where in the country are you? Some bits are better than others, but I cant honestly think of any of it that I'd describe as thriving...

Stone

[Kemper_Boyd]

I think it is fair to say that the NHS has improved and there's
no longer a substantial lack of money, who ever you vote
for is going to be dumping money into the NHS by the truck
load. What hasn't happened, yet, is stabilisation, which will
only occur when spending, new infrastructure and staffing
levels off. At that point if the NHS isn't pretty much as good
as other European health services it will be time to point the
finger at the staff.

[Ely]

Just to throw something else into the pot. Who thinks people who are able to vote and don't should be fined or something? Even if they abstain I think everyone who is able to get off their lazy arses and make the effort should flipping well do so!!

[HGFB]

Isn't that how it works in Australia?

[merman]

In Cambridge it's 50:1 in favour of LibDem signs at the moment. Odd, really.

I'd noticed that too. I've also noticed the fact that none of the candidates can be arsed to come and canvass in this ward, despite the very low turnouts here at recent elections...

Have you previously responded with a definitive answer to phone or doorstep canvassing?

The parties don't tend to to canvass every house, only the ones they want to go out and vote. Canvassing is about finding out who your supporters are and giving them a go-out-and-vote prod; it's not about persuasion. If you're on (for example) the Labour and LibDem lists as a hard Tory, they won't bother calling on you, and this time around the Tories are concentrating on phone canvassing rather than doorstepping (because they can pay other people to do it for them).

Or perhaps your house smells?

My house doesn't smell

We've had no campaign literature for the county council elections, only a few leaflets for the General Election (and not from all the candidates either), and I did see a canvasser last week but he didn't call on my street.

I don't think voting should be COMPULSORY and people fined for not voting, but there must be a better way of:
a) counting votes
b) getting people's opinions heard
c) improving turnout

[aureole]

Currently the efforts are really only being made in marginal seats, AFAIK. Although Cambridge may just be winnable this election - it's #50 on the LibDem list, and I think we warrant a visit from Charlie at some point.

[Acronym]

Tonight. Guildhall, 7:15pm, TV cameras in attendance, Menzies Campbell, the works.

Probably no dancing girls.

[aureole]

Tonight. Guildhall, 7:15pm, TV cameras in attendance, Menzies Campbell, the works.

Probably no dancing girls.

Open bar?

[zip accident]

Stone wrote:Where in the country are you? Some bits are better than others, but I cant honestly think of any of it that I'd describe as thriving...

Where I live the Tories are campaigning on "save our local hospitals" (From mergers).

I find that surprising, and I don't think that getting hospitals "cleaner" will be easy.

I'm not sure that selling hospitals for housing estates and using the money to build other hospitals is efficient, but given the profits on the houses, maybe it works.

Thriving, means living, to me, or maybe doing a bit better than barely surviving.

Dictionary says; prospering

Hmm, dunno about that, I'd say thriving meant doing okay, but not really prospering.

[Acronym]

Tonight. Guildhall, 7:15pm, TV cameras in attendance, Menzies Campbell, the works.

Probably no dancing girls.

Open bar?

Not if they want to keep ol' Charlie on-message, one assumes.

[Gorecki]

Labour are a no-no just for their love of PPP/PFI

This is probably the biggest poilitcal issue for me at the moment and yet none of the parties seem to want to debate it much. All the parties seem to make broad sweeping statement regarding the NHS (cut red tape, more money, cleaner wards) but don't actually seem to go into specifics regarding how this changes will be implemented or funded (apart from a few half-hearted stabs by the Tories who's policies so far have been the most glorious piece of double-think I've ever seen in an election manifesto).

I'll still be voting Lib-Dem as they are still the closest to where I am politically, even though they are dull as dishwater and completely lacking in drive and inspiration. It's all a bit depressing really.

[Are you driving home...]

another weak LibDem vote here too. I'm really hoping that anyone other than Labour get in, even if it is the Tories. A change is as good as a rest and they can't fuck it up too badly in four years.

When it comes down to it, none of the main parties are so radically different from each other and so I think most people's vote comes down to a combination of three things

local issues
which party leader you dislike least
what your dad votes/voted

Anyway, it's a meaningless vote for me as I'm leaving the country for Australia pretty soon.

[Acronym]

The LibDem rally I was at was *very, very* impressive - and there were as many people turned away (somewhere between 500 and 1000) as got in. The head honchos (Campbell, Kennedy, and Baroness Williams) wound up giving speeches in the street outside, apparently.

They were very, very forthright; basically a double-barrel assault on Blair's policies and character. If the rest of their campaign is this persuasive, they will do very well, and if it reflects the mood of Cambridge, the swing could be very large here.